Parts of the Exam

Oral exam

1. ORAL COMMUNICATION

Candidates will be interviewed in pairs. Odd numbers of candidates will be interviewed in threes.

Introduction (3-5 minutes approximately) – is not to be assessed.
The main purpose of this part of the test is, firstly, to put the candidates at their ease and to enable the interviewer to gather information about the candidates for the remainder of the exam.

Guided conversation (5 – 8 minutes)
The interviewer initiates a conversation based on a topic of his/her choice and by asking questions encourages a conversation between the two candidates.

Picture description based on visual stimuli (5 – 8 minutes)
The pictures are selected and provided by the interviewer. If necessary the interviewer can help the candidates with questions.

Evaluation criteria

Formal accuracy (morphology and syntax)

0-5 points

Oral accuracy (pronunciation, prosody and fluency)

0-5 points

Vocabulary (range and activation)

0-5 points

Style (pragmatic and sociolinguistic aspects)

0-5 points

Communicative effectiveness (adequate task completion)

0-5 points

2. LISTENING COMPREHENSION

A2: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand the general sense of a conversation between two native speakers on a topic related to the candidate’s experience and of simple public utterances (e.g. announcements, advertisements).

B1: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand both the general sense and some essential details of a conversation between two native speakers on a variety of topics, and of public messages, news reports and commentaries.

B2: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand explicit information and ideas conveyed in oral material on a wide range of topics which may involve up to four native speakers.

C1: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to extract information and implications from discussions that may include unfamiliar topics and may involve several speakers communicating at a normal rate of speech.

Written Exam

1. WRITING

Evaluation criteria

Formal accuracy (morphology and syntax)

0-5 points

Accuracy (test construction and spelling)

0-5 points

Vocabulary (range and activation)

0-5 points

Style (pragmatic and sociolinguistic aspects)

0-5 points

Communicative effectiveness (adequate task completion)

0-5 points

A2: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to write brief items relevant to everyday situations and conveying basic information.

B1: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to compose short, simple items to convey information and personal opinions on a variety of topics.

B2: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to write descriptive and narrative items related to personal and everyday experiences with reasonable clarity and accuracy.

C1: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to write on a wide range of topics relevant to everyday needs and to his/her own personal and professional field.

2. READING COMPREHENSION

A2: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand the general sense of short, simple items on familiar topics (e.g. public notices, short travel brochures, simple forms, short news items, timetables etc).

B1: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand the general sense of items on a variety of topics and essential details of simple items on familiar topics (job advertisements, instructions for use, personal letters, domestic bills).

B2: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand specific information and to recognise the tone and purpose of passages taken from sources such as newspapers, magazines, regulations, formal letters and reports.

C1: The candidate must demonstrate the ability to understand information and ideas and to recognise the tone and to identify the purpose of different types of texts written for the general reader.